The 49ers are where the Raiders were three years ago – drastically undermanned, in the midst of unrelenting losing, and with Fort Knox-like money under the salary cap. Obviously, the 10-2 Raiders have made the right moves in hiring coach Jack Del Rio, drafting players like Derek Carr and Amari Cooper, and acquiring players like …

Big game today. Every football expert in the country is predicting the Giants are going to win.
They say the 49ers have no answer for New York’s two star wide receivers, Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks, and that the Giants are playing the best football i… …

A recent Tuesday at 4:48 p.m.:
With a blue-tipped Sharpie at the ready, Pat Wong watched as another San Francisco 49er left the team’s compound without signing any autographs. It was just a few days before today’s much-anticipated playoff game against … …

(01-21) 23:02 PST — Who’s had it worse than 49ers quarterback Alex Smith?
Eli Manning!
Granted, it’s tough to pin down which No. 1 overall pick had a more rugged introduction to the NFL, but Smith gives the nod to his counterpart in today’s NFC Champ… …

(01-21) 23:02 PST — Every day they come to work through the lobby at their team’s Santa Clara headquarters, the 49ers pass by one of the most impressive trophy cases in professional sports. Five gleaming footballs atop silver pedestals and a pyramid … …

(01-21) 23:01 PST — Mike Ditka himself will say defense doesn’t win championships anymore.
“The game has changed,” said the former Bears coach who won a Super Bowl after the 1985 season with one of the top defenses in NFL history.
That being said, d… …

— The Giants’ success starts with their pass rush, and that’s why they ended Aaron Rodgers’ season last week.
New York sacked Rodgers four times in a 37-20 win and has 17 sacks during its four-game win streak. The return to health of defensive ends O… …

— Twenty-one years ago, the 49ers arrived at this moment not as a story of improbable resurrection. They were a full-fledged powerhouse, standing on the brink of NFL history.
Then came an epic tussle, a crushing hit on Joe Montana and a rare, costly … …

— The 49ers’ mystique has grown through the season, fueled primarily by the many faces and phrases of their eccentric head coach, Jim Harbaugh. From the fearsome honey badger to blue-collar work shirts, cultural touchstones have been plentiful. Here … …

(01-21) 22:59 PST — In football, as in travel, it is often possible to take different roads and end up in the same location.
That’s been especially true for the 49ers and Giants, who have followed wildly different paths to reach the NFC Championship … …

— Over the last 20 years in Bay Area sports, who is more shocking and surprising than this season’s 49ers?
No-o-o-o-body!
Right? Wrong!
I hereby induct the 49ers into my imaginary Bay Area Phenom Team Hall of Fame. But they join two other teams: the … …

Those lucky 49er Faithful with tickets to today’s NFC Championship Game had best brace for rain.
After Saturday’s surprising sunshine, rain will return to the Bay Area by kickoff time, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. So will the wind, which can wreak havoc wit… …

— The following is a Q&A conducted with broadcaster Ted Robinson by KNBR’s Lee Hammer:

Q:You’ve broadcast Olympics, World Series, tennis Grand Slams, Final Fours, etc. Where does the win over New Orleans rate in terms of “great games”?

A: Without doubt, the best football game I’ve been privileged to call. The final four minutes were Canton-worthy; players making great plays, the quality we cherish in championship events. Nothing will likely ever top the ’08 Federer-Nadal Wimbledon final. And I admit to tearing up when the U.S. Olympic baseball team received their gold medals after defeating Cuba in 2000. But no sporting event can match a Papal Mass, from which I provided “play by play” in 1987 at Candlestick.

Q:As you’re about to call the final play, do you think how historic this call could be?

A: Those moments are about basics. Make sure the listener knows everything. Who is on the field, where are they lined up, where is the ball. Score, time, down and distance again and again. Lon Simmons taught me an invaluable lesson – to watch the field and tell people what you see. Simple, but remarkably true.

Q:Your call of the final touchdown was awesome. “Vernon Davis with the play of his life. Alex Smith with the play of his life.” Did that just come to you, or do you have an idea before the game starts what you might say in a situation like that?

A: The words were spontaneous. F.P. Santangelo messaged me afterward about the “Can you feel Candlestick?” line. I didn’t remember saying it. “Scripting” those moments is false – we are not actors. I never imagined the last play would go to the end zone between the numbers. Bold but beautiful!

Q:How hard is it to control your emotions, and separate the “fan” in you from the “broadcaster,” so you’re not viewed as a “homer”?

A: Many have told me this week they were convinced I preferred the 49ers win. Being raised in New York has been an advantage in making the Bay Area home. The standards are the same – no homers allowed. Now, tone and inflection can convey your presence with the team for whom you broadcast. But a broadcaster should not insult listeners. Acknowledge excellent plays and performances regardless of team and score. Postgame Saturday, someone wearing a 49ers badge actually stopped me to declare his unhappiness with my level of “excitement” when the Saints scored in the fourth quarter. I was stunned at first by the comment’s absurdity, but now accept it as a compliment.

Q:Do you watch a lot of film during the week of the opposing team, so you instantly know all the opposing players?

A: I watch one or two games of each week’s opponents. It’s the TV tape, so my goal is to watch formations, snap counts, physical appearance of players and trends so obvious that even I can detect them. The exercise also gives me questions to ask Jim Harbaugh, coaches and players during the week in the effort to further learn the game.

Q:Do you think the fact that the 49ers beat the Giants already this season has any benefit?

A: Not sure. The Giants are clearly playing their best football in the postseason. The 49ers have extreme confidence and the huge advantage of the loudest Candlestick in at least a decade.

Q:Do you know what you might say as the clock ticks down to 0:00, and the 49ers have the lead? Will you prepare something in advance?

A: Whether it was Bonds’ record homers or (Pete) Sampras’ record-breaking Wimbledon, I have never prepared a line. I may think of a significant point to make. Example: When Bonds hit No. 500 at Pac Bell Park, the only planning I made was to include “San Francisco” in anything I said. I felt the moment was huge for the city, happening in our spectacular new ballpark. As Bonds circled the bases after No. 70 in Houston, I described his motions and his teammates pouring from the dugout. Should the 49ers present the chance (today), I may have some words of perspective in mind, but nothing to prevent me from chronicling the moment.

Q:You almost lost your voice because of all the excitement. You going to be OK for (today)?

A: I “overcooked” one vocal cord, a trauma which I pleasantly accused Alex Smith of causing to occur. He laughed. Dr. Ed Damrose of Stanford ENT put me on the one-week recovery plan, so all systems are go!

The Giants were also certain they would beat the Niners when they trailed 27-20 and were driving late in the fourth quarter of their loss in San Francisco on Nov. 13. That game ended when defensive tackle Justin Smith batted down Eli Manning’s fourth-down pass at the Niners’ 10 with 34 seconds left. …

Forty-niners CEO Jed York has quickly emerged as one of the Bay Area’s most influential sports figures – and very much the guy to watch.
His newfound prominence was on display in the team’s full-page ad in The Chronicle on Friday, in which the 30-yea… …

(01-21) 00:00 PST — Dear New York Giants fans,
Are you ready for some football?
If you came here from the East Coast, welcome. We hope you have a nice stay, have some terrific meals, and spend a LOT of money.
If you live in the Bay Area, hope you ha… …

(01-20) 21:14 PST — Call it the linebacker lineage, an ongoing mentorship program in the heart of the 49ers’ defense.
Just as Takeo Spikes guided Patrick Willis early in his NFL career, so too does Willis watch out for NaVorro Bowman. Bowman clearly… …

(01-20) 21:12 PST — As he insulates the 49ers from everything beyond right now, Jim Harbaugh doesn’t want to hear this, but it’s time to put his coaching performance in historical perspective. In the history of the NFL, has any coach done a better jo… …

(01-20) 21:14 PST — The Giants are heading to Candlestick Park, where the crowd and the general din of the city will not be nearly as nettlesome as the mud.
Niner fans are the most overrated bunch in the NFL, though somehow ranked fourth by so-called… …